Id be very surprised if that was the same boat. The fiberglass looks solid, and there doesnt seem to be any signs of major repairs. Id imagine something like that would total the boat beyond repair. This one is in good shape. I dont know exactly where it was prior to the guy I bought it from. He was about 15 miles east of destin.

Well I just calculated, Ive already put 33 man-hours into my project, and its only been 7 days. Im pretty excited about this overall process and the final outcome some day in the future. I took the oil pan and sanded it to bare metal. As I initially pressure washed in, I noticed rust under the paint, so I had to remove it all.

This photo was taken at some point during the process. I then used a high temp primer and black paint. I actually still need a couple more layers of paint before the pan is done.

Additionally, the motor has been totally torn down, well, with the exception of the headers, which arent torn down. I had the help of a friend to pull the pistons. Everything came out without too much difficulty. I placed eveything in bags and labeled it all. In general the motor looks good. The cylinder walls look smooth. The crank and camshafts dont show much wear, the bearings also look good. Im taking the block to a performance machine shop to get them to clean it, as well as check it out and help me decide how to approach the restoration. Im fairly optimistic that only minimal machining will be required.

I then proceeded to work on restoring the engine mounts. The pair that attaches to the block is in good condition and I was able to sand blast, clean, prime and paint those mounts. The other pair however is a lost cause, and rusted to a point where trying to save them seems like running your head into a wall.

Heres the mount that couldnt be saved:

Heres what the mounts look like before and after:

The mounts are quite done, they need another coat of paint and then they can be assembled. I just wanted to see what they look like. Is there a product out there that would be effective at protecting the exposed parts of the bolts?

The last thing I did tonight was play with the transmission. The transmission with a reduction ratio of 1:52 is mostly in pieces, the previous owner tore it apart because it was underwater. As I look at it, in general the gears are in good shape. Some of them do have some rust on them. My camera on my phone was having trouble, so I dont have photos that I wanted to post.

Here is the drive gear assembly, whats the best way to take care of these kind of parts?

I followed the instructions in the manual provided by the previous owner. I printed the pages and put them in a binder for easy use.

I actually kinda assembled it, without pressing bearings and without a few washers and snap rings, just to see how it fit together. I also need to get a few gaskets and seals, but other than that, all the parts seem to be there. I'll be out of town this coming weekend, so the transmission will have to wait for a couple weeks, but Id like to have it ready to go by the end of may.

Maybe the motor will be ready by then as well. Ill begin tearing down some of the interior parts, like the steering/controls and the dash tomorrow maybe. We'll see how ambitious I get.

Im still looking for the fenders to go to a good home. If I dont find anyone, I'll likely shop em up a good bit and adapt them to my trailer in the future. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Well I got some more work done over the last week or so. The motor has been taken to the machine shop, and should be ready for pick up next week. The guy there said everything looked pretty dang good, and he didnt expect any real issues cleaning the block and such. I went ahead and had them do a valve job as well.

I removed the side panels. They were quite rotten and I was able to literally just pull them away from the fiberglass with minimal effort without even loosening nuts that hold them in place. Ill rebuild them out of marine grade plywood in time, and then have them reupholstered. They arent a vital part of the boat, so they arent at the top of the to do list.

I then pulled the dash. Most of the guages look destroyed, especially the speedos. Will have to get replacements one day. I labeled all the wires as I removed them from the gauges in hope of being able to install new ones easier. The dash itself has cracking on top, but will be repaired fairly easily.

Then I went ahead and removed the gas tank and filling cap assembly which was corroded shut. And look was I found!

The backing plates of the stern eye hooks were more or less not existent. Ill be replacing those with 1/4 aluminum plates I think. Any reason to not use aluminum? It should be a pretty easy repair. I wasnt really surprised considering the rust on other parts of the boat. For example, the steering cable bracket will have to be replaced also. I think I'd like to use aluminum for this as well. Here's a pic of what it looks like.

Ill probably have to disassemble the rudder assembly and grease everything, I may be able to just spray grease in there, but I think the grease fittings may be unusable. Time will tell. Im expecting to have to replace them.

The last thing I did tonight, was remove the floor board in front of the motor box. I talked to a mastercraft dealer and they said Id likely have to replace it. Well, upon closer inspection, they are right. I removed the ski pylon. I tried to slide the board out. Well, then I realized the ski pylon cross member would not allow the board to slide out because of the battery box. So, I proceeded to remove the cross member. No big deal really. I tested to see how solid the board was by bend it, and well, it snapped easily, so yes, it needed to be replaced. The wood on the inside was completely soaked. Somewhere along the way the epoxy resin must have separated from the board, and moisture got in. I'll use the board as a template.

Here's what the area around the bilge looked like.

I was originally kinda hoping to avoid replacing the carpet right away, but I think its smarter to do while there is not motor in the boat getting in the way. So, I'll be stripping the rest of the interior, and pressure washing the inside, hopefully this weekend. And I'll look at taking the windshield apart, Ill be getting the windshield frame, the vents, throttle control, swim platform brackets, and bell housing powder coated sometime in the near future.

Got a chance to clean up the inside of the boat. I pulled the carpet, which was quite rotten. It came out really easy. I then proceeded to remove the rudder assembly, which wasnt moving very freely and definitely needs a bit of attention. The grease fitting is gone, and will have to be replaced, hopefully that something that can be done fairly easily. Ill polish, and reseal the entire assembly as well when I install it.

I went out and worked on it in the day time for once and pressure washed the inside, removing the glue residue from the fiberglass.

Once I removed the automatice floated switch for the bilge, water rushed through the screw holes. So, there is water between the sub floor and the outer hull. Im not sure how to approach fixing this, or if even needs to be fixed. While searching where the source of the water may be, I noticed "cracks" in the four corners of the boat. It looks like the layers of glass may be separating. I can fit a flat head screw driver into them.

Anyone have a clue how to approach this?

I removed the windshield, but had a hard time removing the lower frame components, the nuts holding the frame down look more like washers, and are rusted beyond recognition, so I'll have to mess with those some more. I was told by a mastercraft dealer to just use regular window weather stripping for underneath the frame. So, I'll do that when I reassemble the windshield. Heres an imagine with the first section out.

I then proceeded to remove the throttle control. I took it apart and started cleaning the components. I may end up replacing the actual lever. I like the chrome look and may just get a new one instead of messing with getting the old one chrome plated.

I should be picking the motor up this week, and once I have all new bearings and gaskets, I'll start reassembly of it.

Got more work done yesterday and today. Cleaned the throttle control. All the metal levers with tons of corrosion got a healthy does of a wire wheel on a bench grinder, and interior of the mechanism received brand new grease. I primed and painted all the metal outside parts. I went by home depot and picked up new stainless machine screws, had to cut them down 1/8th inch, and reassembled the whole thing. I thought about getting the throttle itself re chromed, but opted for simple sand, prime and paint. Its all black, and I kinda like it. Heres a before and after.

Before :

After:

Plan on working towards getting the vents, rest of windshield, and swim platform brackets off next time and get them off to powder coating. I'll also look into marine grade plywood, for the floor boards and other components and work on that while I wait for the motor to be finished at the machine shop. They are cleaning the block, heads, and intake, and doing a valve job. I'll be reassembling the whole thing. Additionally, I just made a purchase of 2 exhaust manifolds, a carb, raw water pump, circulating water pump, distributor, and alternator on ebay. Hopefully get those sometime next week and can work on cleaning that stuff up. The alternator and distributor are extras in the deal, but they are likely in better condition than mine, so Im crossing my fingers that they are in good functional shape as well.

Nice work. I have enjoyed seeing the progress. This goes to show me how biased in opinion I am about buying into boats and their issues that others inflict upon a new owner. I would have never considered doing this (lack of patience) but this goes to show how most anything can come back from the dead. Good work. I am wondering what you did to the heads for that engine? Were they reusable or did you replace them, and with what head(s)? The GT40 head is hard to find (for me anyway) so I was wondering...... or was that a standard 240 HP engine?

Marine grade plywood can be expensive. I have used builder grade plywood and covered it with epoxy resin which works quite well. Just a suggestion if you please.

I like seeing all of the engine work.

I assume that the parts you have bought on flea-bay are marine / USCG rated / approved? Auto components are not allowed for safe use (USCG). Just curious.

Nice work. I have enjoyed seeing the progress. This goes to show me how biased in opinion I am about buying into boats and their issues that others inflict upon a new owner. I would have never considered doing this (lack of patience) but this goes to show how most anything can come back from the dead. Good work. I am wondering what you did to the heads for that engine? Were they reusable or did you replace them, and with what head(s)? The GT40 head is hard to find (for me anyway) so I was wondering...... or was that a standard 240 HP engine?

Marine grade plywood can be expensive. I have used builder grade plywood and covered it with epoxy resin which works quite well. Just a suggestion if you please.

I like seeing all of the engine work.

I assume that the parts you have bought on flea-bay are marine / USCG rated / approved? Auto components are not allowed for safe use (USCG). Just curious.

What carb did you buy?

Thanks for the pictures.

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Thanks for the kinda words. Ive wanted to get into restoration for a long time. I frequent jeep forums and once considered a resto on an old CJ. Then I have an interest in late 70s porsche 911sc which I will restore one day for sure. I love boating/skiing, and this boat popped up at the right time, so I went for it.

The heads are the standard ones and Im planning on reusing them. They are still at the machine shop, and are being checked out. Assuming there isnt anything significantly wrong with them, they will clean them up, do a valve job and call it good. I told them Id like the block back asap so I can work on putting it back together. It was in good shape, and I think they are just about done cleaning it up and checking all specs. Ill be replacing 2 pistons I think, rings, and all bearings. Obviously gaskets and seals.

I havent found a source in town of marine plywood, but I also havent searched too much as of yet. Im almost to the point where Ill be working on those parts, so Ill get some soon. Although pricey, I feel like Id rather do it right, right being using marine plywood. I dont really ever plan on selling this boat once done, so Id rather not have rotten floors in 15 years if I can prevent it. Yes, other plywood will work with the correct treatment, but I dont really want to have that be an issue in the back of my head.

The parts I just purchased (exhaust manifolds, carb, raw water pump, circulating water pump, etc. ) are all from an 88 Prostar, the carb is def. marine version, which ever model came stock. Circulating pump is original too I believe, so its marine versions of that stuff.